Harper Ignores Khadr ... Still

Even with the US government putting the world on notice that the Guantanamo Bay prison that Omar Khadr is being held in will be closed down in the next twelve months, I see that Harper is continuing his 'head-in-sand' approach to the whole business.

Despite the plea, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper reaffirmed there will be no change in policy regarding Khadr unless the U.S. changes its position and dismissed the plan as a "PR stunt and nothing more."

"We are not interested in what Mr. Khadr's lawyers have to say or opposition leaders or, frankly, the media," Kory Teneycke told the Canadian Press.

The arrogance of this position is beyond belief. The only thing about it we can take away is that the HarperCon$ are nothing if not consistent. So far, the Harper government has dragged its feet for months (and longer) on every case where a Canadian citizen is held in questionable circumstances abroad.

Like it or not, Khadr is a Canadian Citizen - he was born here. Canada has a responsibility to its citizens, and the Harper government refuses to carry out its responsibilities in this area.

If Khadr really did something criminal, then bring him home and make him stand trial. The sham courts of the 'military tribunals' are not legal courts, and President Obama has already made it quite clear that they are about to come to a grinding halt.

What I think of the Khadr family is immaterial here. This is, like the Brenda Martin situation, a matter of rescuing a Canadian citizen who is being held illegally by a foreign power.

Ideology cannot be allowed to trump responsibility in our government.